ATTA CHICKEN- KOTKAPURA inspired...

Proof that I watch TV…

But only if food is the hero.

We’d heard of this famous ATTA CHICKEN made by two Sardarjis in KOTKAPURA near Ludhiana, Punjab. On television, many, many food show hosts have tried their best to wrangle the secret recipe from the creators…but to no avail. Yes the technique they display, that is what lets the cat out of the bag.

Fame is a fickle friend.  On the one side they do not want to reveal their recipes (top secret like the mission to Mars!)On the other-the more people that talk about the famed ATTA CHICKEN, the better it is for business. They can but not talk about the subtlety of flavors or the creaminess. The one thing they did reveal is that their recipe is based on the same technique that Afghanis use to bake or roast a whole sheep.

Afghanistan equals dry fruit, in all probability they use pistachios and almonds…these that are available in abundance there. Not keen users of our desi ginger and garlic or tomatoes or cream-so “elementary my dear Watson!”

Nuts!

Not happening, I heart nuts, totally .but in meat or chicken…no can do!

After much procrastination and the application of logic…this is what we came up with.

We keep some ingredients intact-after all its safer to be in familiar territory, make some changes here and there ET Voila… ATTA CHICKEN.

We have the luxury of a tandoor at our disposal; you may use a BBQ stand or just your plain oven.

The key is the dough and the amount of heat.

The rest all is left to god and his magnificent ways.

So this festive season try your own homemade ATTA CHICKEN.

For the

ATTA CHICKEN- KOTKAPURA inspired...

You need

1 whole bird-offal’s removed and cleaned (about a kilogram will suffice for 3-4 people)

2 tbsp fresh cream/malai

2 tbsp yogurt

½ tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp tandoori chicken Masala (if you do not have access to it, use garam Masala red chili flakes and kasoori Methi)

Additional red chili flakes

Salt

Atta dough made by using ¾ kg whole wheat flour and water-nothing fancy

30 cm by 30 cm muslin cloth

An “s’ shaped hook if you are using a tandoor

Sliced and spiced onions to serve (don't forget the peg-sheg)

The night before you have to serve the Atta Chicken...

Poke/prick the chicken many times over with a fork, to better enable the flavors to penetrate.

Blend the cream/malai, yogurt, vinegar, tandoori chicken masala, salt and red chili flakes to taste (1 ½ tsp of salt is good for a full bird).

The 4 tbsp shelled pistachios/almonds (we have pistachios languishing around as now hubby dear has graduated onto the  healthier option of sea salt roasted almonds)

Mix in the pounded nuts and rub over and inside the bird. Let it now rest in peace in this marinade for 12-15 hours.

The S shaped iron hook and the muslin "cheesecloth".

Place the bird with all the marinade ,(what you cant slather on it,stuff inside it) on the muslin.I topped this with extra red chilli flakes. Wasn't looking spicy enough for me.

Now thread the hook through the pelvis ...the neck is not strong enough to handle the weight.Tie the feet  with a little twine...just around itd lower back you'll find that the bone is HARD. Thats where the hook goes in...away me hearty! Peter pan will not come to the rescue. No worries.

Testing!

Get your Atta dough…me; I use my food processor to make the dough. the dough should be atleast 1/2 inch thick and not too soft.Wrap it around the kukkad /bird and seal with wet hands.

Get your tandoor or BBQ started at least 10 minutes before you venture to pack the bird.

A word of caution –the temperature in the tandoor can touch close to 630C, you don’t want it that blazing. If you are deprived of these, pre heat your oven to its highest temperature. Bake till the Atta burns and blackens and then reduce the temperature to about 160C. This will need at least 3 hours.

If you see how red and intense the flames are...you can guess how hot the tandoor is.first the ata cooks then it will cook the chicken on DUM  .

This was less than 2 minutes after we placed the chicken in the Tandoor.

Yup,the seekh/iron rod stood no chance.The bird was too heavy for it...so that was replaced by a daratti- a punjabi name for a straightened sickle.दर्रात्ति it is.

After 30 minutes…but a watched kettle never boils and a little lecture"tte" on how the tandoor heat must be controlled from hubby dear-I don’t like the getting educated –as my classmates from Loreto Convent Delhi will vouch for.

I was the girl with the Mills and Boon novels on my lap when calculus was swimming around in all their brains. Don’t blame me; the teacher was B-O R ring!

That’s what I did strive not to be ,when I took up teaching math’s…all right kids? Smile for me here! Wont you!

OK, long wait two hours…we were famished! Didn’t bother with breakfast….and now we were so eager to wield our hammers. Blood thirsty!

Ah! The fruits of labor! The burnt to solid rock Atta gave way to the chicken…so tender and falling off the bone…I didn’t use food color so the pics look pale. That BTW is the muslin cloth,had to be torn off.

The ground pistachios tasted like chicken and the chicken tasted like pistachios…

Since the pics were not pretty, I plated this a la Vineet Bhatia…complete, with the rice and the onions and the gravy…

The only thing that came to my mind...Wallah!Kya Khoobsoorat lagti!..(Pran ,was it from Zanjeer...starring Amitabh Bachchan)
Bottoms up!

Inspired???
Come on....

So what are you baking today???

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Vegetable Tartlets...

Not interesting? Too boring? Excuse me!

Little tarts with vegetables in a cheese sauce.

Warm and appetizing.

No one says you need to eat plates full! These are tiny morsels, enough for a bite. Pretty and filling.

Great hors d'oeuvres   …or as canapés….or as they spell them here in Ranchi -canopies.

I’m giving you one option for filling for these tiny tarts /canapés, you may, of course add your own.

What we are doing here is DE-Mystifying short crust pastry. One never attempts to make short crust pastry…..it’s almost as scary as entering Dracula’s coffin with a cut finger. First all this cuss word stuff about the chilled ice cold butter and flour…then the fact that one does not want to wash too many dishes in the winters…we the people , don’t want to petrify the maids. Here they are as scarce as the chances of hair sprouting on a bald pate.

So food processor to the rescue.

And that’s why I buy butter in 100gm packages. No real need then to always weigh.

Simple as ABC…is short crust pastry, all you need is flour, butter and water. Problem here is, so many people are pure vegetarians-NO egg…so meat and its derivatives are a far call.

One has to cater for the eggless variety. So these tart /pastry cases are eggless.

Here’s how you make them-this recipe made 16 small tart cases. For a 9 inch shell you’ll need to multiply all the ingredients by 1.5.

For the

Vegetable Tartlets...

you need

1 cup/160 Gms plain flour

½ cup/80 Gms butter (not frozen but COLD)

Couple of pinches of salt

Ice Cold Water to knead the dough.

That’s the 80 Gms of butter, very easy to remove 20 Gms when you have a 100 gm stick of butter.

That’s the flour. Notice the steel blade in the processor-only because I was in no mood to cut the butter into small pieces.

Whiz it all till you get the bread crumbs like texture….basically the flour and the butter have come together ,but not yet.

Now a spoonful of water at a time and bring it to this. Your dough is done….not too much of mess was there?

If you want to you can use beaten egg instead of the water, but don’t dump all at the same time…little by little.

Now a bit of dough to roll, fairly thin. 

About 1/8^th of an inch thin. 

Place the tart mould on top to guide you and roughly cut off some dough.

 Then just press the dough into the mould and shape, cutting off the excess. Make many, many holes with the tines of a fork to ensure you get an even crust.

Pop them into the oven, pre heated 180C/350F for about 12-15 minutes. Golden brown and they are ready to be brought out.

You can try the first one warm from the oven….I scarfed down two without the filling, the pleasures of being a cook.hmm

For the

Cheese sauce  and  the vegetables.. 

                                                                                                                                  

300 mils warm milk

2 tsp butter

2 tsp plain flour

Salt and pepper to taste

100 Gms grated cheddar cheese

2 tsp prepared mustard

1 cup each iced vegetables-green peppers, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, and peas

1 tsp chopped chives, some leaves basil 

The best part is the cheese sauce.

That’s 2 tsp each butter and plain flour.

Make a roux, which is a fancy French name for the cooked butter and flour mix that helps to thicken any sauce.With all this fancy-schmany stuff be sure to keep an eye on the roux -don't let it colour.

Pour  in the milk, ensure you stir well…..nobody loves lumps.

Cooked-now it’s time for the mustard paste English/French/Bengali…take your pick.

And the cheese and the salt and pepper. 

I added chives and basil…flavors always enhance the taste.

Ok, now that’s 5 cups full of assorted vegetables, cut small-peas, carrots, cauliflower and cabbage.

Pour ¼ cup water in them and zap in the microwave for 5 minutes, full power, covered. These are the cooked vegetables...still have a crunch in them. You don't have to cook thye capsicum.

Mix well, now stir in the veggies and the cup full of diced green pepper.

Now simply serve in the pastry cases…

Since this was for two tweens celebrating a new television totally dedicated to the play station…there was KETCHUP.

They had a ball…

You can too-get rid of those draconian fears of pastry making and stop using soggy boxed canapés.

So what are you baking today???

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Rolly Polly Bread and Butter and Jam Pudding

Rolly Polly pudding and pie kissed the girls and made them cry… (I know that’s not correct but whatever...)

Lots of hugs and kisses to the person who made this bread and butter pudding...oops not to forget the jam!

Just the right thing to eat when the temperature falls-In Ranchi, the temperature does not fall; it slithers like a snail taking a leisurely stroll to the in-laws house…and then suddenly BAM! It’ll be so cold ‘it’ll freeze the pants of anyone who dares venture without an ushanka, which is the furry hat that Russians wear in the intense arctic cold. That's the hat.

(Yes I know I am exaggerating ,but then where is the fun without any drama!)

What I am trying to put across is that this pudding is perfect for cold evenings, when all you crave is custard and a bread and butter pudding.

Warm, gooey ,abysmally comforting…almost like a hug from your mum…you’ll feel it even more if you‘ve flown the nest. And excruciatingly simple. So we tweak it up a little.

All you need is bread ,butter ,jam, milk sugar and eggs. All available in your kitchen cupboards…

Remember the Masala Pops?

http://baketitude.blogspot.com/2011/12/masala-pops.html 

Used the 4 leftover slices of bread to make this P.U..Ding .ding…

This recipe is curtsey the Good Food India magazine- the first thing I wanted to try!

Want to give it a shot?

For the

Rolly Polly Bread and Butter and Jam Pudding...

You need

1 loaf unsliced bread(400 Gms)

300 mils cold milk

100 mils cream

2 eggs

4 tbsp melted butter

200 Gms jam(any flavor that you have hanging around)

2 tsp custard powder

4 tsp sugar

½ tsp vanilla essence

A simple very fresh loaf of bread which I sliced along the length.3 long slices I used for the Masala Pops and the remaining for this something sweet. Regular slices of bread used to be cut into triangles and layered with butter in my mum’s version of the bread and butter pudding …but this is a tweaked version…totally inspired…

Cut out the sides of the bread slices, since the bread is very fresh it doesn’t cut neatly ,but no worries.

One side the melted butter.1 tbsp per slice.

Flip them over and slather the jam.

Now roll the slice along the length with the jam inside.

not yet ready...just resting..

Grease your dish with jam instead of butter here.

Cut in half and make them stand upright in the dish. Pretty??

Now for the custard. Whip together the eggs, cream, vanilla, milk, custard powder and the sugar.

Pour this over the rolled up bread and let it stand for half and a hour.

Sitting duck...for someone?

Pre heat your oven to 180C/350F and pop the dish in for 35-40 minutes.

If you are the impatient kind and have a grill and micro /convection and micro combination oven (like me) no preheating required, just pop the dish at 70% combination for anywhere between 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye out…I left mine for just a minute extra.

Wait five minutes and then …ATTACK!

A note for the vegetarians-substitute the eggs with 2 tbsp custard powder and 6 tbsp milk mixed together.

Nice little whorls in your pudding bowl, and warmth that will reach your soul.

So what are you baking today???

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Masala Pops

Bored, bored and more bored…

I’m sure you get to hear that as often as I do, if not more. Sometimes I wonder what if I really was boring. Where would these boys go?

No to sandwiches, no to cake, no to pizzas…no, no, no…

So what does poor “Nihala” do? (Nihala being “me” here…just a random name for a poor soul with no way in sight ,made famous by my dad)

On a whim, I had bought a loaf of unsliced bread and then sliced it the wrong way. Instead of regular slices of bread I had fat, rather BROAD slices of bread…so I decided to roll them up…Rolly Polly rolls...Err plump rolls.

Too cold for pinwheel sandwiches….butter will not taste as good, so I dropped the idea. Then –bingo! It was pizza rolls…without the cheese –(totally inspired by the craze for all things POPS) I decided to call them MASALA POPS!

Blogger has something against me...any time I upload a pic in portrait mode which has been edited...this is what happens.

These are Masala  Pops in a vase...portrait mode....just tilt your head a little please...to appreciate the view.

According to Wikipedia…

 Masala or massala (Hindi: मसाला; Bengali: মশলা; Urdu: مصالہ‏) is a term used in South Asian cuisines (including Indian, Nepali, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani cuisine cuisines) to mostly describe a mixture of spices. A masala can either be a combination of dried (and usually dry roasted) spices, or a paste (such as vindaloo masala) made from a mixture of spices and other ingredients—often garlic, ginger, onions and chilli paste. Masalas are used extensively in Indian cuisine to add spice and flavour, and lose quality when not fresh.^[1]

Here goes.

For the

MASALA POPS…

You need

3 long slices of bread

6 tbsp pizza topping sauce (or a sauce made with onions, tomatoes and garlic and spiced according to your palette)

3 tsp melted butter

Olive oil to drizzle

This was the bread ,sliced the wrong way.Three slices used..

Spread the butter on the three slices of bread and then spread the Masala sauce.

Place the bread on foil or film.

Start rolling along the long side away from you tightly.

Quickly wrap it up like little toffee crackers in the film or AL foil.

TIGHT WRAP.

Chill at least 10 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F.

Slather some olive oil; on a sheet of AL foil.

Slice the chilled Masala roll while it I still wrapped. This will help it keep its shape.

Unravel the foil/film. Poke the pop with a pick to help keep its shape.

Place the cut rolls on the oiled foil and drizzle some more on the rolls to help them crisp up.

Bake 10 minutes and serve immediately.

Happy children make a happy mother. You may top the roll with some grated cheese to make them into pizza pops…but we were working on minimalism.

No ketchup needed...

Looks like @ does'nt it?

So what are you baking today??


Coming up...
With the left over bread I made....Rolly Polly Bread and butter and Jam Pudding!

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